Teaching Democracy Under Martial Law: A Narrative Inquiry of Civic Education With Elementary Students in South Korea

On December 3, 2024, South Korean President Suk Yeol Yoon declared martial law for the first time in 45 years, suspending ordinary democratic norms and heightening civic uncertainty. This study examines how an elementary teacher and his second-grade students in a rural South Korean school engaged with this moment through a classroom simulation known as “Mr. Kim Law.” Using narrative inquiry, co-authored by the teacher and a researcher–teacher educator, we analyze how children experienced the sudden suspension of ordinary classroom rules, from compliance and fear to collective resistance and restoration of democratic voice. Guided by the dual frameworks of critical civic education and the state of exception, the study illuminates how even young children grappled with injustice, authority, and solidarity in meaningful ways. The findings reveal that children are not merely future citizens, but present civic actors who can recognize and contest arbitrary power when supported by relational trust and democratic school practices. At the same time, the case underscores the dilemmas of democratic education in politically sensitive contexts, where teachers must navigate legal mandates of neutrality while fostering civic agency. By situating the micro-politics of a single classroom within the broader national crisis, this study contributes to scholarship on democratic education under conditions of fragility and demonstrates the potential of narrative inquiry to capture the lived meanings of civic learning.